Differentiating Instruction in the Classroom Teachers face a remarkable challenge when trying to meet the needs of all students (Bray, Brown, and Green, 2004). According to Tomlinson (2009), understanding student variances is the key to planning for differentiation. Using technology to reach student interest, readiness, and learning profile gives diverse learners options they need while keeping them engaged and motivated. Teacherleaders.com at http://www.teacherleaders.com/Differentiate.html (Tomlinson, 2003) lists and describes a myriad of different ideas, tools, websites, and software to use to reach student interests, readiness, and learning profiles, and to help plan for differentiation. Enhance Learning with Technology is another resource that has many links for differentiation at http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/differentiatinglinks.html. This resource lists videos and articles for teachers. In the area of interest, I would like to implement a RAFT in my classroom to encourage creative writing and promote critical thinking using Writer Fix at http://www.writingfix.com/WAC/RAFT.htm which is an interactive generator with prompts. RAFTs require students to think and write from a real person’s perspective and construct their writing for others outside of the classroom. RAFTs require the deeper thinking that my gifted students are required. In the area of readiness, I could use Xpeditions by National Geographic at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/matrix.html, which lists activities that can be used guidelines to differentiate simple to complex tasks. In the area of learning profiles, I can offer differentiation by using Make a Timeline at http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/timeline/index.html for visual learners to summarize information in all subject areas. The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives at http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html would appeal to my kinesthetic learners in the area of math. Storyline at http://www.storylineonline.net/ would meet the needs of my auditory learners.
Surveys
A personal interest survey for elementary students should give them the opportunity to answer questions about their likes and dislikes in school, and it should allow them to explain what they would prefer to do if given the opportunity. Adapted from Holzschuher (1997), this survey includes all open-ended questions and allows for this type of personal interest. The link to this site is http://www.mcas.k12.in.us/plp/STUDENTINTERESTINVENTORY.pdf A good learning style questionnaire for fourth graders allows students to discover their own learning style(s) and explains the learning strategies preferred. Piedmont Educational Services provides a survey, http://www.pesdirect.com/lsitest2.html that asks students to check boxes that describe their preferences, and when finished, tells the student their dominant learning style, explains each type of learning, and suggest learning strategies to promote success in their area of preference. By using a multiple intelligence survey that indicates strong ability in the areas of verbal, mathematical, visual, kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, and interpersonal, teachers can modify their instructional mode to suit their learners’ diverse needs. Piper’s Multiple Intelligence Quiz (2002) http://www1.chapman.edu/soe/faculty/piper/teachtech/miquiz.htm offers questions in all of these areas and allows the students to tally their own scores and discover their preferred modalities. Learning for Life offers a Learning Profile Questionnaire developed by The Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character, http://www.learningforlife.org/lfl/resources/ncr-forms/233419-1.pdf , which offers students the opportunity to answer ethical questions. This type of survey will help teachers gather insight into their students’ culture and ethics, which can play a large role in the dynamics of the classroom setting. Being aware of a student’s personal preferences and beliefs will help teachers modify and counsel as needed. Sites:
There is a myriad of resources we have discovered and listed througout this course that I can use for DI and UDL. Sharing and trading these resources and ideas has helped me become more aware of the importance of allowing my students to share their resources and ideas for more effective learning. This course has also made what I thought was the complicated implementation of differentiation much understandable and easier.
I plan on using my district's response system (Turning Point with Study Island - matched with our state's standards) for evaluating my students' strenghts and weaknesses before beginning a new unit. I have also used several of the interest, learning styles, learning profiles, and learning preferences surveys to understand my students' needs and adjust instruction and production. I plan on implementing this the first two weeks of school next year; This course has convinced me that using the first couple of weeks getting to know my students' learning needs in-depth will be worth the time and effort this type of evaluation will afford. I also plan on offering more technology productions to my students: PowerPoint, digital storytelling, podcasts, and Voice Thread. I enjoyed using Xtranormal, and I know my students would love to create a production using this software! It is my intention to request that our technology department allow us to use it for student productions with teacher monitoring. I also plan on requesting that we be allowed to use networking to allow our students to share their resources, ideas, and plans for productions.
Teachers face a remarkable challenge when trying to meet the needs of all students (Bray, Brown, and Green, 2004). According to Tomlinson (2009), understanding student variances is the key to planning for differentiation. Using technology to reach student interest, readiness, and learning profile gives diverse learners options they need while keeping them engaged and motivated.
Teacherleaders.com at http://www.teacherleaders.com/Differentiate.html (Tomlinson, 2003) lists and describes a myriad of different ideas, tools, websites, and software to use to reach student interests, readiness, and learning profiles, and to help plan for differentiation.
Enhance Learning with Technology is another resource that has many links for differentiation at http://members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/differentiatinglinks.html. This resource lists videos and articles for teachers.
In the area of interest, I would like to implement a RAFT in my classroom to encourage creative writing and promote critical thinking using Writer Fix at http://www.writingfix.com/WAC/RAFT.htm
which is an interactive generator with prompts. RAFTs require students to think and write from a real person’s perspective and construct their writing for others outside of the classroom. RAFTs require the deeper thinking that my gifted students are required.
In the area of readiness, I could use Xpeditions by National Geographic at
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/matrix.html, which lists activities that can be used guidelines to differentiate simple to complex tasks.
In the area of learning profiles, I can offer differentiation by using Make a Timeline at
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/timeline/index.html for visual learners to summarize information in all subject areas. The National Library of Virtual Manipulatives at http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html would appeal to my kinesthetic learners in the area of math. Storyline at http://www.storylineonline.net/ would meet the needs of my auditory learners.
Surveys
A personal interest survey for elementary students should give them the opportunity to answer questions about their likes and dislikes in school, and it should allow them to explain what they would prefer to do if given the opportunity. Adapted from Holzschuher (1997), this survey includes all open-ended questions and allows for this type of personal interest. The link to this site is http://www.mcas.k12.in.us/plp/STUDENTINTERESTINVENTORY.pdf
A good learning style questionnaire for fourth graders allows students to discover their own learning style(s) and explains the learning strategies preferred. Piedmont Educational Services provides a survey, http://www.pesdirect.com/lsitest2.html that asks students to check boxes that describe their preferences, and when finished, tells the student their dominant learning style, explains each type of learning, and suggest learning strategies to promote success in their area of preference.
By using a multiple intelligence survey that indicates strong ability in the areas of verbal, mathematical, visual, kinesthetic, musical, intrapersonal, and interpersonal, teachers can modify their instructional mode to suit their learners’ diverse needs. Piper’s Multiple Intelligence Quiz (2002) http://www1.chapman.edu/soe/faculty/piper/teachtech/miquiz.htm offers questions in all of these areas and allows the students to tally their own scores and discover their preferred modalities.
Learning for Life offers a Learning Profile Questionnaire developed by The Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character, http://www.learningforlife.org/lfl/resources/ncr-forms/233419-1.pdf , which offers students the opportunity to answer ethical questions. This type of survey will help teachers gather insight into their students’ culture and ethics, which can play a large role in the dynamics of the classroom setting. Being aware of a student’s personal preferences and beliefs will help teachers modify and counsel as needed.
Sites:
National Universal Design for Learning Task Force:
http://www.advocacyinstitute.org/UDL/
CAST: Chapter 4:
http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter4.cfm
Ohio State University: Learning Technology
http://ada.osu.edu/resources/fastfacts/Universal_Design.htm
The Center for Teaching and Faculty Development: UDL
http://ctfd.sfsu.edu/udl.htm
PDF with lots of links:
http://www.paec.org/fdlrstech/Handouts/FDLRSTech.pdf
Presuming Competence By Design • A Tutorial for Systems, Environment, Curricular, and Materials Design in Learning Systems
http://www.unco.edu/CETL/UDL/
Great Schools: Universal Design for Learning - Improved Access for All
http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/universal-design-for-learning-improved-access-for-all.gs?content=785
University of Washington: The Faculty Room
http://www.washington.edu/doit/Faculty/Strategies/Universal/
My UDL presentation:
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7857307
More Resources for Differentiating Instruction: Dec. 12, 2010
Lesson on Differentiation: the basics:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3747932
How to plan for differentiated intstruction:
http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/differentiate/planning/
Internet 4 Classrooms: I've been using this site for years:
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/di.htm
Effective ways to improve student performance with lots of links for teachers:
http://www.learnerslink.com/curriculum.htm
December 19, 2010
There is a myriad of resources we have discovered and listed througout this course that I can use for DI and UDL. Sharing and trading these resources and ideas has helped me become more aware of the importance of allowing my students to share their resources and ideas for more effective learning. This course has also made what I thought was the complicated implementation of differentiation much understandable and easier.
I plan on using my district's response system (Turning Point with Study Island - matched with our state's standards) for evaluating my students' strenghts and weaknesses before beginning a new unit. I have also used several of the interest, learning styles, learning profiles, and learning preferences surveys to understand my students' needs and adjust instruction and production. I plan on implementing this the first two weeks of school next year; This course has convinced me that using the first couple of weeks getting to know my students' learning needs in-depth will be worth the time and effort this type of evaluation will afford. I also plan on offering more technology productions to my students: PowerPoint, digital storytelling, podcasts, and Voice Thread. I enjoyed using Xtranormal, and I know my students would love to create a production using this software! It is my intention to request that our technology department allow us to use it for student productions with teacher monitoring. I also plan on requesting that we be allowed to use networking to allow our students to share their resources, ideas, and plans for productions.